After sensing Feebas's warning, Theo raised a hand and touched the headlamp strapped above his forehead. He adjusted the light, making it brighter, then swept the beam forward.
When the light finally landed on the pair of bright, gleaming "dots," and he clearly saw the "monster" ahead, the tension in his nerves instantly loosened. Carefully, he called out:
"Sableye?"
"Eye?"
Sableye slowly lifted its head. In its gemstone-like eyes, polished as though carved from crystal, gleamed with nothing but confusion, as if the little creature were asking, "Why are you calling me?"
Theo fully relaxed, lowered his voice, and tried to speak as gently as possible:
"Could you please scoot a little to the side and let me pass?"
"Eye?"
Sableye blinked its jewel-like eyes, staring blankly at Theo with a look that said it didn't understand a single word he just said.
Seeing its bewildered expression, Theo pointed toward the open space beside it and repeated with more emphasis:
"Move a little that way, let me get through, okay?"
But Sableye only tilted its head. At some point, a dull gray stone had appeared in its arms, and it was currently scratching at the crystal embedded on the stone's surface with great effort—completely ignoring Theo's request.
The passage was already narrow. With Sableye blocking the center, there was almost no space to get past.
"Looks like I'll have to push it a bit…" Theo muttered helplessly, then winked at the Feebas nestled against his chest. "Feebas, prepare to attack—lightly. Just enough to drive it away."
Feebas immediately understood, leaping out of the inflatable tank on his chest and preparing for battle.
The livestream chat instantly lit up:
"He's gonna fight it?! That Sableye scared the life out of me when it showed up!"
"Same here! I thought it was some kind of creepy spirit thing!"
Theo took a deep breath and ordered quietly:
"Feebas, use Water Pulse!"
Feebas flicked its tail hard, releasing a gentle ripple of water from its mouth. The expanding water wave shot straight toward Sableye.
The Water Pulse struck, knocking Sableye slightly off balance. The gray stone in its arms clattered to the ground. Only then did it stop scratching at the crystal, and its jewel eyes turned toward Feebas, filled with irritation at being disturbed.
"EYEE!" It screeched furiously, suddenly dissolving into a streak of shadow. In a blink, it appeared before Feebas and charged at it.
Feebas slapped its tail against the ground, using the recoil to catapult itself away, dodging Sableye's attack with ease.
"It's fiercer than it looks," Theo frowned. "Feebas, use Icy Wind. Freeze its claws so it stops swiping around."
Feebas opened its mouth, releasing a chill-filled breeze that blew directly onto Sableye's claws.
In an instant, the cold condensed into a thin layer of ice. Caught off guard, Sableye let out a sharp "Eeeey!" and hurriedly pulled its claws back, shaking them frantically in an attempt to break the ice.
Taking advantage of its distraction, Theo quickly squeezed past the narrow space, shouting at Feebas as he did:
"Ease up!"
Feebas immediately ceased the Icy Wind. Only then was Sableye able to break free from the icy restraint.
But when it saw Theo already walking away, it seemed even more displeased. It picked up the stone it had dropped earlier, seemingly wanting to throw it at him—
Yet the moment Theo turned back, Sableye froze, then hugged the stone tightly instead, letting out a low, disgruntled growl at his retreating back.
Theo took a few steps forward, then turned to glance again—and only then noticed that the spot Sableye was standing at earlier had a noticeable indentation in the wall. Inside the hollow were embedded small shards of crystal. The gray stone Sableye had been scratching earlier was clearly pried from there.
"So, it wasn't blocking the path on purpose, it was digging for crystals."
Finally, everything made sense. He'd thought the Sableye was deliberately being difficult, but in truth, he had interrupted its "work."
Theo stopped, pulled a small bag of Pokémon food from his backpack, walked back to Sableye, and gently placed the food on the ground.
"Sorry about earlier. I disturbed your digging. This is my apology gift."
Sableye stared at him warily, then looked at the food bag, letting out a hesitant rumbling sound.
It was clear the fragrant food tempted it greatly, but remembering how it had just been frozen, it didn't dare approach easily.
Seeing this, Theo stepped back two paces, signaling that he meant no harm.
"Don't worry, that's all. Take your time."
Sableye kept watching until he retreated a safe distance. Only then did it cautiously shuffle toward the bag, poking it with a claw first. After confirming it didn't react, it swiftly tore the bag open and grabbed a handful of food, shoving it into its mouth.
Crunching sounds echoed through the narrow tunnel. Sableye's gemstone eyes immediately lit up, sparkling with joy, the anger from earlier completely forgotten.
"Looks like it likes it."
Theo chuckled and turned to continue deeper into the cave.
The livestream chat breathed a collective sigh of relief:
"So, it was all a misunderstanding! Sableye was just a hardworking little miner!"
"Look at it eating, its eyes are literally glowing hahaha!"
"I kind of want to raise one now, those eyes are gorgeous."
Sableye finished eating and looked at Theo's departing back. A trace of hesitation flickered in its gemstone eyes.
It glanced at the crystal in the cave wall, then at Theo's backpack. Its jewel-like pupils spun rapidly as it contemplated something. After a few seconds of hesitation, it quickly scurried after him.
Theo hadn't walked far when he heard faint, quick footsteps behind him.
He turned around and couldn't help laughing.
The same Sableye was tailing him, still clutching the empty food package in its arms. Its jewel eyes were fixed intently on his backpack, as though calculating how much "treasure" remained inside.
"You little fellow… you're not shy at all, are you?"
Theo stopped and faced Sableye.
Instead of hiding, Sableye ran right to him, pointed at his backpack, then pointed into the depths of the tunnel. It chirped "Eye, Eye!" while nodding vigorously like a bobblehead.
"You're saying… there's something good ahead if I follow you?"
Theo raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He turned to the camera:
"Seems like our little guide wants to take us to a treasure spot. Any guesses on what it'll be?"
The chat exploded:
"It's gotta be where it hides its loot!"
"Sableye loves collecting shiny stuff, maybe rare minerals!"
Theo followed Sableye deeper into the narrow passage for around ten minutes, until they reached a hidden stone chamber.
At the center lay a messy pile of treasures—
Half-eaten crystal clusters, polished iron ores, and even a few smooth pearls. These were clearly Sableye's hoarded treasures accumulated over the years.
Sableye rushed to the pile and excitedly dug through it, proudly displaying its wealth.
Then it pulled out a gray stone from the bottom. Its surface was smooth and cool, dotted with many tiny black specks. At first glance, it looked plain.
"What's this?"
Theo picked it up, feeling the chill and the hardness. Blue light flashed briefly across his vision as his mental interface revealed its details:
[Everstone - a stone that prevents the Pokémon holding it from evolving.]
"An Everstone?" Theo was surprised.
He knew these were valuable to certain trainers, especially those who liked small or cute Pokémon and didn't want them to evolve.
For example, wealthy ladies with cute pet-like Pokémon such as Buneary, Skitty, or Eevee often paid high prices to keep their partners in their adorable forms.
Sableye seemed to notice Theo's interest. It chirped loudly, tapped the Everstone with its claws, then pointed at Theo's backpack. The meaning was unmistakable.
It wanted to trade the stone for food.
Theo considered it. He didn't have any Pokémon who needed an Everstone right now, but the stone was expensive. Trading food for it was an absolute bargain.
He pulled out three bags of Pokémon food and set them in front of Sableye.
"These for your little stone, how about it?"
Sableye's eyes lit up like twin lamps. Without hesitation it nodded wildly, grabbed the food into its arms, and pushed the Everstone toward him.
"Not a bad deal," Theo said, placing the stone carefully into his backpack. He spoke to his viewers, explaining,
"Didn't expect this surprise. From the looks of it, this stone is very likely an Everstone."
He didn't reveal the exact identification from his interface—just left a hint, letting viewers engage and speculate.
As soon as he finished speaking, the chat erupted:
"Pretty sure that's an Everstone! If so, streamer, you hit the jackpot!"
"That's definitely an Everstone! My Meowth holds one too!"
"Miss above, you still looking for a Meowth? I can be your Meowth!"
"Get lost! I'm a dude, dammit—"
After bidding Sableye farewell, Theo continued deeper into the cave.
Before long, several Zubat swooped down from the ceiling with shrill cries.
"Feebas, use Icy Wind!" Theo commanded.
Feebas released a freezing breath, and sensing the energy that countered them, the Zubat scattered and fled.
A bit farther ahead, a Geodude jumped out from behind a rock, waving its fists threateningly.
Another Water Pulse from Feebas sent it tumbling back, ending the encounter cleanly.
After several such small battles, Theo began to feel disoriented.
The cave tunnels grew increasingly complex.
"This place is way too confusing…" Theo muttered, staring at yet another four-way intersection.
Just then, he heard a familiar "Eye!" echo from the left passage.
He quickly walked over, peeked around the corner—and burst into laughter.
It was the same Sableye from earlier!
And then, an even stranger scene appeared:
Several round Aron were lined up neatly. One by one, each stepped forward and spat out a shiny gem or translucent crystal onto the ground.
Sableye stood beside them like a professional merchant. After accepting the gem, it would hand each Aron a small handful of Pokémon food to taste—food that Theo had given it earlier before stepping aside to let the next customer approach.
"E…ye?"
Sableye had just finished handing out food when it noticed Theo. It froze, then glanced down at the small pile of gemstones beside it.
Its gemstone eyes filled with embarrassment, ears drooping like a child caught doing something sneaky.
"You—you little rascal!"
Feebas, watching from the inflatable tank at Theo's chest, tilted its head in utter confusion. Its tail fin wiggled helplessly.
Earlier, Sableye loved Pokémon food so much.
So why was it giving that precious food to other Pokémon now?
Feebas looked up at Theo with two big round eyes full of bewilderment, as if asking:
"Why is it doing that?"
Meanwhile, the livestream viewers were in hysterics:
"I'm dying, Sableye turned into a middleman!"
"Upgraded using the streamer's idea—now it's trading food for gems, this lil' businessman!"
"Feebas's confusion is so relatable! How did this foodie suddenly become a trade mogul?!"
"Come on, it's lived in this cave for years, of course it has special skills!"
(End of Chapter)